Monthly Archives: February 2017

Social workers do a unique job in assisting various vulnerable members of the public to improve their situations and reach their full potential. As a social worker, you may work helping veterans, families, underprivileged children, the elderly, refugees and other individuals and groups of people who are in need of your assistance. In order to succeed as a social worker, it’s important that you possess a range of important personal qualities. These are:

Non-Judgmental

As a social worker, you will be working with people from all walks of life. Certain people who you work with may have done or been involved with things, situations or people that you don’t agree with, or you may need to help individuals who have committed crimes in the past. Whilst studying for your masters in social work it’s important to understand the importance of being non-judgmental and non-biased in your chosen career.

Communication

Whilst working as a social worker, you will often be responsible for communicating information to the people that you work with, along with reporting information back to your employer and other professionals working in the health or criminal justice systems, for example. Excellent communication skills are vital when working as a social worker, as not only will you need to have the ability to clearly communicate information to your clients, but also be able to listen and take on board the information that they provide you with effectively.

Self-Direction

Social workers often enjoy a very independent and flexible career, with many being left to choose their own working times and the types of clients that they work with. Because of this, it’s important for social workers to be able to plan, prioritize and manage their own time well and be very self-motivated and self-led. Online social work degrees can certainly help you to improve this skill.

Empathy

Social workers are responsible for helping vulnerable people to turn their lives around and achieve their full potential. Because of this, it’s important for social workers to have a lot of empathy and be able to see things from the point of view of their clients when offering advice or support. Being empathetic enables social workers to better relate to their clients and determine the best steps for them to achieve success.

Observation

As a social worker, you may often be working alongside individuals who will be reluctant to tell you the whole truth about their situation. Good observational skills are essential in order to determine whether or not there may be something wrong that you will need to address. For social workers, it’s highly important to have an above average level of emotional intelligence in order to work so closely with other people.

Social work is all about using your skills, knowledge, and empathetic personality to help others who are in need. As a social worker, these skills are essential for being successful in your chosen career and helping your clients to overcome the obstacles in their lives and flourish.